CBS Previews Primetime Lineup at Comic-Con

CBS Networks shared some fun new tidbits about their primetime lineup Thursday at San Diego Comic-Con, including sneak peaks at Season 3 of the high-tech thriller Scorpion and the new 13-part murder-mystery miniseries American Gothic.

Scorpion

Scorpion returns for its third season this fall and starts things off right where last season ended. The cast and creators discussed some of the upcoming romantic twists and turns, where their characters are standing emotionally, and a few of the star’s favorite stunts.

On the romantic side of things, Katherine McPhee revealed that fans of the Walter/Paige relationship have a bit of hope.

“Walter definitely comes to Tahoe and it’s… it’s a shock,” she said.

Writer/producer Nick Wootton laughed and chimed in his own feelings on the subject: “We love ‘Waige’, we love it and we will play with it.”

Ari Stidham, who portrays the hapless Sylvester Dodd, spoke candidly about his character’s recent arc in which his wife died tragically and was sent up into space.

“I feel very lucky to have gotten to explore every crevasse of this guy as he falls in love and she dies and gets shot up into space,” he said. “It felt almost Shakespearean and it was really cool. (Sylvester) still wears the ring, the band-aid, so keep watching.”

Eddie Kay Thomas, who plays psychiatric genius Toby Curtis, was slightly less poignant in his discussion of favorite moments.

“The facts and genius talk can really be so thick, and I have a really small brain, so I just like it when something blows up,” he said to a round of laughter from the crowd.

Wootton confirmed that the showrunners want to do an episode that shows the various character’s origin stories, but that fans may have to wait until season 4.

“We have a great idea for it. It’s not something we can do this season, but we have one where we’d love to see where everybody comes from.”

Once the hints were dropped and questions were answered, Katherine McPhee (who was an American Idol runner-up, after all) led the assembled cast in a little harmonizing. Once they all managed to hit the same note, McPhee announced (jokingly) that they had created the show’s new theme song.

For more Scorpion, check out the wiki and the 2-hour season premiere Oct. 3 on CBS.

American Gothic

The creator and stars of CBS’s new 13-part family-drama murder-mystery miniseries American Gothic turned out Thursday to share a sneak peak of the show and talk about what it’s like to be part of one seriously screwed up family.

The show follows the Hawthorne family, a tight-knit clan with aims for greatness. Unfortunately, one of the clan is inextricably linked to the Silver Bell Murders, though the family’s many secrets have kept that person protected even from within.

Executive Producer Corrine Brinkerhoff talked about how the show’s primary theme is nature versus nurture, and no character displays that more strongly than the youngest Hawthorne, Jack (played by the witty Gabriel Bateman).

“(Jack) seems to be evidence that there probably are psycho genes in this family,” she said. Bateman hammed it up, trying to give his best psycho impression to the audience’s delight. Despite his amusement with the title of psycho, however, he did feel uncomfortable during some of the show’s more extreme scenes.

“One of the first scenes in the pilot, I cut off a cat’s tail,” he said. “I mean, I didn’t actually do it, but I still felt bad.”

The cast seems to be taking their family ties seriously, as they reassured Bateman and all seemed protective of him.

“I feel really really lucky to be doing this with this amazing cast and crew, at this age,” Bateman said. “I feel so blessed.”

The stars also enjoyed joking around like a family, talking about what items they would leave at the scene of a murder (a crucifix, sour jellybeans, a silver g-string, gloves, and a cat tail, for those wondering).

Despite all of the fun and joking, the sizzle reel released shows a very dark, twisting plot with murderous and manipulative characters to rival those in an Agatha Christie novel. American Gothic looks intense in the best way, and viewers can tune in to see the family feud to end them all Wednesday nights on CBS.

A cinephile before she could walk, Danielle comes to Fandom by way of CNN, CHUD.com, and Paste Magazine. She loves controversial cinema (especially horror) and good cinematography; her dislikes include romantic comedies and people's knees.

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